Spaghetti Squash

Now that my family is eating healthier, I am trying to find ways to make our favorite dishes more figure friendly.  One of my guys menu favorites is spaghetti.  The problem is all those calories and carbohydrates in that pasta.  So this week I swapped out regular pasta noodles for spaghetti squash.

The first time I heard about replacing pasta with a spaghetti squash I thought it would be complicated.  I couldn't have been more wrong.  It is so simple to prepare and it tastes really good, even my son likes it.

I won't lie to you; it doesn't taste like pasta, but it really is good.  And it gives you that great base you need for your spaghetti sauce.

So, without further ado, here are the instructions for cooking perfect spaghetti squash.

• Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise.
• Place, face down in a microwave safe dish.
• Cook on high for 12 minutes.
• Let it cool just a bit, until you can handle it.
• Scoop out seeds and discard.
• Hold up by stem and scrap out the "noodles."
• Repeat with other half.
• Sprinkle with some season salt.

Does it really get any more simple than that?  You can serve any kind of sauce over your squash "noodles."  I usually just stir my "noodles" into my sauce.

As for servings:  There are three of us and my guys are pretty hearty eaters.  One medium to large spaghetti squash provides plenty and we usually have leftovers.  

One cup of spaghetti squash has 31 calories as compared to one cup of regular pasta spaghetti noodles, which contains 211 calories.

Chicken Taco Soup

My family really likes this soup and it is also low calorie.  Because I am trying to lose weight and get healthy; I will be posting some lighter, healthier recipes.

Chicken Taco Soup

Ingredients:
2 12.5 oz. cans chicken breast meat, drained
1 12 oz. bag frozen sweet corn
1 can Rotel
4 cups chicken broth
1 can white beans
1 can light red kidney beans
1 packet of ranch seasoning mix
1 packet of taco seasoning mix

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a crock pot and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours.

110 calories per 1 cup serving

Note:  You can serve this with tortilla chips and shredded cheese.  Of course, that will add calories.

Three Bean Chili

We love chili at our house.  So, needless to say, we have tried many recipes throughout the years.  I recently happened upon a new recipe on Pinterest for Three Bean Chili.  I did tweak it a bit, but it was so good it has earned a place on our recurring meals list.

So without further ado, here is the recipe, with my tweaks.

Three Bean Chili

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 small sweet onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (15 ounce) can light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup vegetable juice
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon cyan pepper
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• sea salt to taste
• 2 cups water

Directions:  In a large sauce pan, add ground beef and cook over medium heat, breaking up meat with a spoon.  Just when it starts to lose its pink color, add onion and garlic and cook until onions are tender.  Drain fat.

Add additional ingredients and bring to a boil.  Turn down to simmer and let cook for 1 hour.  

This recipe can also be done in the crock pot.  After browning meat, onions and garlic in a sauce pan place all ingredients in your crock pot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Enjoy! :)